Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Assembly was today adjourned till Thursday after Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra expressed his resentment in the House over Minister Arun Sahoo’s remarks against him, which was followed by Opposition ruckus over a BJD legislator’s statement.

As soon as the House assembled after an adjournment till 3 pm, Mishra mentioned about his questions to the Chief Minister and Minister Sahoo’s remarks against him. He also demanded that the minister’s statement should be expunged from the records of the House. When the Leader of Opposition is not allowed to speak, it demoralisse the Opposition, he maintained.

Besides, he said the ruling party is bearing a grudge against him without elaborating the point.

At the same time, ruling party MLA Mahesh Sahu stood near his seat and protested the statement of Mishra saying the issue cannot be debated as it is not a concern of the House.

At that moment, Speaker Niranjan Pujari asked the Water Resources minister to present the department’s demand, which was passed amid the din created by the Opposition members following the statement of the BJD legislator. The Opposition MLAs stormed into the well of the House raising slogans forcing the Speaker to adjourn the Assembly till tomorrow.

Talking to media person later, the Leader of Opposition elaborated his point about the grudge of the ruling party against him. He said an FIR was lodged against him in a torching case in Agalpur block of Balangir district in 2002. The case was dismissed by the Orissa High Court in 2008. Despite the HC rejection, a fresh case was registered against him in a Balangir court on April 25 this year, which was dismissed on April 27.

Refuting the charges, BJD spokesperson Shasibhusan Behera said, “The LoP was repeating the old issues, which was why MLA Sahu protested in the House.”

He added, “Reopening old case cannot be said as grudge against someone. It must be done as per the requirement of the law.”

Earlier in the day, the House was adjourned till 11.30 am after the Opposition created a din as soon as the the business of the day began. Later it was adjourned till 3 pm. An all-party meeting called by Speaker Pujari at 9.30 am today was failed to resolve the issue.